The Grandmaster Clock of Mobius
by MarioMario54321
Summary: Shadow is tired of people confusing him with Sonic. He runs away to a forest, and finds a secret underground room with a giant clock run by a time wizard. But when Shadow tampers with the big clock, it takes him on a big adventure through time!
1. The Mysterious Clockwork

Ok, the reason I chose Shadow to be the main character is because Shadow wasn't born as a baby and grew up like everyone else. He was created by Dr. Eggman's grandfather, Gerald Robotnik. I know this because I watch a lot of Sonic X. Anyway, enjoy the story.

**Disclaimer**: Sonic The Hedgehog and all characters in the story belong to SEGA. Except for Clockwork. He belongs to me.

* * *

It was a peaceful day on Mobius. The sun was out, Cream the Rabbit was outside, enjoying the beauty of nature, with her mother, Vanilla keeping an eye on her. Everyone else was inside. Except for Sonic, Amy and Shadow. The three of them were outside. Sonic was running at full speed to wherever he likes, and Shadow was standing in one spot, his arms crossed.

But the silence was broken when Shadow heard Amy calling from behind.

"SONIC!" yelled Amy as she ran up to Shadow, thinking he was Sonic, and tackled him to the ground. The dark hedgehog was flabbergasted the moment he fell down after Amy tackled him.

"GET OFF OF ME! I'M SHADOW YOU IDIOT!"

Amy was blushing in embarrassment as he realized that it really was Shadow.

"Sorry! I didn't know it was you! You look a lot like him from far away! I'm sorry!" said Amy, running away, expecting Shadow to counterattack her, which he didn't.

"Curse that annoying pink hedgehog!" yelled Shadow, in anger.

"Why does everyone keep confusing me with Sonic? What is wrong with me? I wish Amy Rose was never even born! I WISH NONE OF THEM WERE EVER BORN!"

At this, the angry black hedgehog ran off at full speed to the nearby forest. He expected to get away from everyone.

But then something unexpected happened. Shadow tripped over something. He was unsure what it was. Shadow got up from the ground and wondered.

"That was weird. I must of tripped on something. I wonder what it was."

Shadow, wondering what he tripped over, checked the area, and found a trapdoor, it was closed. And it had a handle on it that was used to open it.

"Hmmmm, I wonder where this goes to."

Shadow pulled at the handle, after 10 seconds, he was able to open the trapdoor. It revealed a stairway going down.

"I wonder where this goes to." wondered Shadow, going down the stairs. The stairs curved and curved, and eventually it went straight. After a few minutes, Shadow came across a button at the very end of the tunnel.

"A button. I wonder what will happen if I press it."

Shadow presses the button, and then the walls begin to move, and it reveals a passage to go deeper into the tunnel.

"Interesting." said the black hedgehog as he headed for the newly opened passage. Expecting that it would lead to more dungeon, Shadow was surprised at what he saw.

"_What is this place? It's so big!"_

Shadow came across a large room with a giant clock at the very end. The clock looked the same as any Cuckoo Clock, except it was huge, and around it were lots of giant cogs and gears turning and pounding.

"Hello there! Welcome to the Grandmaster Clock!"

said a mysterious voice. The dark hedgehog was caught off guard. He turned around, and he saw a tall man holding a scepter with a clock on it. He had a monocle with a clock on it, he was wearing Cog shoulders, Gear Legs, and a pendulum was swinging back and forth on the center of his chest. He also had black eyes, and on his head, a cuckoo swung back and forth from his forehead like when a real clock strikes a certain hour. It comes out when the clock on his monocle goes a full hour. And he had an hourglass on his head that flips every time all the sand hits the bottom.

"Uhhh....hi." said Shadow, nervous to see someone he's never seen before.

"Hello there! My name's Clockwork. I am the one who runs the Grandmaster Clock of Mobius."

* * *

**Note:** _For first-time readers, go to my Profile to learn more about Clockwork._

* * *

"Is that where I am?"

"That's right! This place is the center of all things time! Well, on Mobius anyway."

"I see. So this is where the hourglasses for everybody is?"

"Sure! Who are you?"

"My name's Shadow. I stumbled upon this place while running through the forest."

Clockwork's hourglass flipped over as all the sand had hit the bottom.

"Well, you sure are lucky to have found this place! But I must ask you to leave. You cannot stay here. I'm sorry."

"Why?" said Shadow, confused.

Clockwork's eyes rolled as he sighed, knowing that Shadow knows nothing about where he was.

"Listen. I must ask you to leave. If you mess with one little thing here, even the hourglasses, that could change things! And life itself would not be the same again. I cannot have you tampering with anything. I'm sorry."

Just then, Clockwork remembered something, and his expression changed from serious to interested.

"However, if you'd like a tour of this place, then I'd be happy to give you one! Just don't touch anything, alright?"

"Alright." said Shadow.

"Follow me."

And then, Clockwork and Shadow went through the Grandmaster Clock, and Clockwork showed Shadow how everything worked, and Shadow was becoming really interested in taking advantage of it all and messing with time itself. But knowing it would get Clockwork mad, he sighed an moved on.

"By the way Shadow, isn't it kinda cool how you use Chaos Controls with a Chaos Emerald to freeze time for a little while?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, every time you do that, some parts of the Grandmaster Clock stop. Even though it doesn't interfere with all the other parts."

"Wow. I did not know that."

"You do now. Alright. Let's keep going."

Meanwhile, Sonic and his friends were wondering where Shadow went.

"Hey, have any of you guys seen Shadow?" said Sonic.

"Yeah. I haven't seen him since I mistook him for you, Sonic." said Amy, looking at Sonic's expression.

"You know, come to think of it, I haven't seen him all day." said Tails.

"Me either." said Knuckles and Rogue.

"I wonder where he went." said Sonic.

After Clockwork had given Shadow a tour of everything the Grandmaster Clock has to offer, he stopped and said,

"All right. Now you know all about this place. I hope you liked it. Now please leave. I don't want you tampering with anything."

"Ok. See ya."

Before Clockwork could say anything else, Shadow just took off. But before we went out the door, the Grandmaster Clock struck noon. And the large cuckoo bird was popping back and forth. It took Shadow by surprise, and Shadow looked back, and he didn't watch where he was going.

He slipped, and was knocked into one of the turning cogs, the cog sprang right from it's position like a spring, and Shadow was flung into the air. He landed inside the hole where the cuckoo was. Right when it was outside. He fell on top of a giant cog that was turning sideways.

"Whoa. Gotta be more careful." said Shadow, getting up, realizing that he was standing on a turning cog.

Then, the cuckoo stopped and went back into the clock.

"I gotta get out of here!"

Shadow climbed up from where he landed, he got on top of a platform, and he found the cuckoo bird that comes out from inside every hour on the hour. He tried to open the door that opens and closes whenever the cuckoo comes out, but it wouldn't budge.

But then, the devious dark hedgehog had an idea. He picked up the cuckoo and decided to ram the door down.

"Chaaaaaaarge!"

Shadow ran straight for the door with the cuckoo. Expecting to ram the door open. But then something unexpected happened.

The door just opened by itself. And below, stood a very angry Clockwork glaring at Shadow for what he's done.

Shadow stared down at his wroth face and said,

"I'm sorry! I'll put the cuckoo back! I'm sorry for what I did there!"

"You should be." said Clockwork, crossing his arms, his scepter beside his wooden waist.

At this, Shadow went back and put the cuckoo back where it was. His heart rate was so high, and he was so nervous and desperate to get out before Clockwork goes beserk.

But Shadow was so desperate and quick, that he didn't notice that the cuckoo was not placed properly. It was facing the other way. Into the clock rather than straight ahead.

"Get down from there. NOW!" yelled Clockwork, running out of patience.

Shadow jumped down with a soft landing.

"Look, I'm sorry if I messed with....."

"Just get out of here! And don't ever come back!"

"Ok Ok!"

Then, Shadow ran out of the Grandmaster Clock as quickly as be could. He ran up the stairs as if being chased by a monster. Then, when he finally got out, he was relieved and happy to see sunlight and fresh air for once.

Sonic and the others were looking in the forest.

"Shadow! Where are you?" said Sonic.

Everyone else said the same thing. Then Cream spotted him next to the trapdoor.

"There he is!" yelled Cream.

The rabbit got everyone's attention and everyone else noticed Shadow.

"There you are Shadow! Believe it or not, we were all getting worried! I ran high and low, far and wide, but you were nowhere to be found!"

"Well, I'm alright now. So I guess we can call it a day."

"Hold on Shadow. Where were you exactly? What were you up to?"

Shadow thinks for a moment, the black hedgehog didn't want to tell anyone about the Grandmaster Clock.

"Ummm.........I was lost in this forest. That's all."

That night, Shadow was at his house. Thinking about what happened over at the Grandmaster Clock.

"It's a good thing today is finally over. That Clockwork fellow is a real pushover when someone tampers with his clock, but he was glad to have given me the tutorial of the place."

Then Shadow remembers something that happened one week ago.

"At least it wasn't as bad as the time Cream's mother Vanilla baked me a sparkleberry pie and my allergies started acting up. She knows by now that I'm allergic to sparkleberry pie. My body started itching and I started sweating like crazy! It took like 5 days for it to wear off. Worst day of my life."

Shadow then brushes his teeth, and goes straight to bed. Good Night, Shadow.....

* * *

**In the next Chapter, watch how things take a major twist from when Shadow tampered with something in the Grandmaster Clock.**


	2. Shadow's Worst Day Reborn

The next day, when Shadow woke up, brushed his teeth, and hate breakfast, he went outside.

"All right. What to do what to do....."

As Shadow was walking, he was passing by Cream's house, and Vanilla was outside. She saw the dark hedgehog in the distance, and without mistaking him for Sonic, Vanilla tried to get his attention.

"Hey Shadow!"

Shadow heard Vanilla calling to him, and so he stopped and turned his head toward her.

"Oh. It's you. What?"

"I just wanted you to come inside. I've created a new pie recipe!"

"Really? You have?"

Vanilla smiled and said,

"Yes! It's my new sparkleberry pie! Made from sparkleberries found only in the rarest places!"

At this, Shadow stopped to think for a moment.

"_Hold on! Didn't she invent that recipe one week ago?"_

Shadow took so long, that Vanilla said,

"What's wrong? You don't like it?"

"It's not that. Didn't you give me one of those pies one week ago?"

"One week ago? What are you talking about? The recipe of mine is new!"

Shadow became very confused.

"Whoa. I think I'm having a sense of De-ja-vu."

Then, Vanilla's daughter, Cream the Rabbit, stepped outside and saw Shadow's puzzled face.

"What's wrong Shadow? You look like you've seen a ghost. Did you have a nightmare or something?"

"No. I'm fine." said Shadow, defending his dignity.

"Well then, why don't you come into the house? My mom invited all of your friends!"

"Uhhh....ok sure."

Without another word, the black hedgehog followed the 6-year old rabbit into the house.

Shadow was let to a table. There sat Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge. Shadow didn't feel right. He was so confused from what Vanilla said to him.

"_I swear, I've lived this day before. I don't know what's going on."_

As Shadow sat down on one of the chairs, the timer in the kitchen went 'ding!' and the pie was ready.

"All right everyone! Who's ready for some sparkleberry pie?"

Everyone except for Shadow said "Me!" in complete unison. Then Sonic broke the sudden silence.

"Where do sparkleberries come from anyway? And why are they called 'sparkleberries'?"

"No one knows." said Tails, replying to what Sonic said.

"_Hey! Sonic and Tails said the exact same thing last week!" _thought Shadow.

Vanilla came out of the kitchen and set the pie down in the middle of the table. But then Shadow was determined to know what was going on, and he didn't want his allergies to act up. So he just got up and yelled,

"You guys don't understand! I swear I lived this day before! And it was one week ago? What is wrong with everyone?"

But then Rouge, desperate to try the new pie, got up and said,

"Oh shut up and have some pie!"

Then, the crazy bat cut a slice of the pie, and shoved it right into Shadow's mouth.

"Mmmmph....mmmph!!!!!!"

Then, Shadow swallowed, and just took off. He ran out the door.

"What's wrong with him?" said Amy.

"I don't know." said Cream.

Shadow was running through the fields, desperate to find out what's happening.

"I don't understand! It's like I was thrown back in time or something!"

Just then, Shadow's allergies started acting up. And he started itching like crazy.

"OH! Thanks a lot Rouge!"

Shadow started scratching himself, and as he was doing so, he just thought of something.

"Wait a minute!" said Shadow, as he was trying to fight off his allergies,

"Something must of happened when I touched the cuckoo bird of the Grandmaster Clock! Clockwork told me that if I tamper with anything in the room, it could change life as I know it!"

At this, Shadow realized that he has made on of the biggest mistakes of his life. Probably the biggest mistake of his life. And he needed to fix it fast.

Shadow was so distracted and determined to fix what he had done, that he stopped noticing his allergies, and he ran straight into the forest, he ran so fast that something unexpected happened.

"What the.....WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Shadow's shoe was caught on the handle of the trapdoor that led to Clockwork's Grandmaster Clock. And surprised that it was still there, Shadow tried to reach for it, but he couldn't. The hyperactive hedgehog's foot slipped out of the shoe that was caught on the handle, and he fell on his head.

"OOOWWW!!!!" wailed Shadow, as his head hit the ground hard. Then, he started seeing colors, as if the whole world was going into some sort of crazy dimension. And then, everything went black. Shadow was unconscious.

That night, when Shadow finally woke up, he was dazed and confused all at once.

"Look! He's waking up!" said someone. Shadow didn't realize who it was. But he recognized the voice. It was Sonic.

"Uggghhh.......what....wh...what happened? Where am I?" whispered Shadow, trying to get out of his coma.

"You're at Vanilla's House. You were found unconscious somewhere deep in the forest." said Amy.

"So......I....wait!"

Then, Shadow suddenly remembered what happened to him.

"Now I remember! I was running through the forest, then my shoe got stuck, and I fell headfirst, and the rest is all a blank."

"Well, you're ok now." said Tails.

"Are you ok?" said Knuckles.

"I'm fine." said Shadow, skaking his head trying to get ahold of reality.

"Would you like some pie?" said Vanilla.

Then the sparkleberry pie that Shadow was allergic to flashed back into his mind. He suddenly remembered everything else. Including what happened when Shadow messed with Clockwork's Grandmaster Clock.

"No thanks Cream's mother." replied Shadow.

A moment later, Shadow shook his head hard, and then got up from bed and ran out the door like he was running away from Amy if she were mad at him and were wanting to hit him with her Piko Piko Hammer.

"What's wrong with him?" said Sonic, braking the silence that happened as soon as Shadow ran out the door.

"Something tells me Shadow is having a bad day, even after he's already had it." said Rouge.

But no one seemed to care about what she said. Which made Rouge cross her arms.

Meanwhile, Shadow ran straight home, and went to bed as instant as he would usually be getting ready for bed, without brushing his teeth.

"Ok. Maybe I'm just having a crazy day. Maybe tomorrow things will get better."

The dark hedegehog's head was hit so badly, that he didn't even think about the Grandmaster Clock he ran into one week later from the time he was really in. And being in a coma seemed to have worn off his allergies.

Then, a tired Shadow looked up into space, began to close his eyelids, and went into a deep sleep.

* * *

**Ok, Shadow sure has had one crazy day. But the time reversal that Shadow's going through has just begun! Read the next chapter and find out what happens next!**


	3. Living In His Shadow

As soon as Shadow woke up, the dark doppleganger of Sonic got up from his bed, got ready for the day, and went out his door.

"Ok. Today is a new day. I'm sure everything today will go better." said Shadow.

Then Shadow went over to Sonic's house. Along the way, Shadow thought about everything that happened yesterday. But he never thought that yesterday had never happened because of what he did to the Grandmaster Clock.

"Ok. Here goes..."

Shadow rang the doorbell of Sonic's door, and Sonic answered it before Shadow could even take his finger off the button.

"Wow. You're fast." said Shadow.

But as soon as Shadow laid his eyes on Sonic, he noticed that Sonic was actually shorter than what he usually looks like.

"Uhhh...Sonic, are you all right? Did you get shorter?"

"No. I'm fine. And how do you know my name?"

"Well, you look shorter than you always did these days. What happened?"

"Dude, I don't know what you're talking about."

"What? But Sonic, you look younger! And shorter. And your voice sounds less deep."

"Yeah. But I'm going to be like you one day except not dark and shadowy. You look like you're from the future or something. Are you?"

All of a sudden, Shadow's eyes opened wide as if he just saw a ghost.

"Umm, is something wrong?"

Then, a younger Tails came up next to Sonic.

"Sonic? Who's this stranger? And why does he look like youexcept he's taller?"

"WHAT!?! I'm Shadow! And how can you guys not remember me? You guys found me unconscious in the middle of a forest. It was yesterday! Don't you remember? And what happened to the both of you?"

"Umm..Sonic, I think this guy's crazy! I think he only came here to distract us." said Tails, not remembering anything.

"Ugh!"

Shadow ran away from Sonic's house in complete frustration, and he was hopelessly confused about how all his friends did not remember anything that's happened in the previous day.

"What's going on? Why is this happening?"

Then, Shadow remembered something that he knew would be the possibility of what was happening to him. He did not remember anything about the Grandmaster Clock.

* * *

Shadow did not meet Sonic and/or his friends until Dr. Eggman found him in a capsule on Prison Island in Sonic X. Which is why younger Sonic and younger Tails do not know about him at all. He was kept away on Prison Island all these years, but I decided to make a little change to that. Keep reading.

* * *

"EGGMAN!" yelled Shadow, knowing what he thinks could of caused him to be trapped in time reversal.

"I'll make him pay for what he's doing to me!" roared Shadow.

Then, the instant he finished his sentence, he took off at full speed, preety much as fast as Sonic when he's a full speed, to Eggman's lair.

The evil doctor was not expecting anyone at the time. And when he least expected it, Shadow rushed in, breaking down the metal door.

"Hey! Ever hear of knocking?" said Eggman, turning around.

"Oh shut up, Dr. Eggy! I know it was you!"

Then Dr. Eggman's eyebrows rose as he had no idea what Shadow was talking about.

"What? What did I do?"

"I know it is you who's throwing me back in time day after day!"

"Who are you and are you trying to confuse me?"

"Eggman, you don't understand. NO ONE UNDERSTANDS!" yelled Shadow. "I was created by your grandfather, and..."

Before Shadow could finish his sentence, Eggman called in his minions, Decoe and Mocoe.

"Get this guy out of here!" yelled Eggman.

"Yes doctor." said Decoe.

Then Decoe and Mocoe pushed Shadow out of Eggman's lair.

"After Shadow was thrown out, Shadow hit his head on a nearby tree. And he started seeing stars, and then, just like the first time, everything we blank.

As soon as Shadow woke up, he was wondering where he was.

"Where am I? What happened?"

Shadow shook his head hard. And he realized that he was in front of Cream's House.

"Hey! What am I doing in front of Cream's House?"

There, at the door, stood Vanilla. And to Shadow's surprise, she was holding a baby. Shadow didn't realize that he was thrown back in time to when Cream the Rabbit was just a baby.

"Cute baby." said Shadow, confused and lost.

"Thank You. I love her very much."

"Right. What's her name?"

"Her name is Cream. Who are you?"

"My name is Shadow and......wait, CREAM!?!"

"Yes. Is there a problem with that?" replied Vanilla.

"Right.....of course." said Shadow.

Then, Vanilla walked back into the house. As Shadow watched her enter the house, Shadow could see part of the inside of the house. And he saw a big clock with a tall pendulum. But then, something unexpected happened.

The very second that Shadow caught the first sight of the clock, the dark hedgehog had a flash. Everything suddenly came back to him all of a sudden. As if he was suddenly struck by a lightning bolt.

"THE CLOCK!!!!!" wailed Shadow, remembering everything as if he was hit on the noggin.

Then, Shadow took off, but Shadow yelled so loud, that Cream, the little baby that she was, was crying. And Vanilla tries to calm her down.

Meanwhile, Shadow was running as if he was running for his life.

"I gotta get to that Grandmaster Clock!" yelled Shadow.

When Shadow arrived at the spot where the trapdoor with the handle was, he was desperate to get into the clock room, so as soon as he arrived, he stopped suddenly, lifted the handle, and revealed the stairway. He ran down the stairs as fast as he could, determined to fix what he had done.

"_I must get to the top of that Grandmaster Clock. Then I have to position the Cuckoo bird facing forward."_

But then, something else unexpected happened. Shadow was running and thinking, so he paid no attention to his step. He tripped on the stairs, and he was falling down the stairs. He hit the bottom with a thud.

"Huh? What was that?" said someone.

Surprisingly, that someone was none other than Clockwork. He was the only one besides Shadow who knew about the place. Clockwork went over to the stairs. He found the dark hedgehog on the floor. Shadow was unconscious.

"Looks like someone found the passage to my Grandmaster Clock. But he must of fallen down the stairs." said Clockwork. "I wonder what I should do about him. I can't leave this clock unattented."

Clockwork thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. Then, he snapped his fingers.

"I've got it! I'll send this guy back in time to before he found this place."

Then, Clockwork stuck out his scepter, then the hands on the analog clock at the top of the scepter's stem started turning. The minute hand started turning clockwise, and the hour hand turned counterclockwise. Both hands turned at high speeds, getting a little faster each second.

"This guy is out of track, send him BACK!" chanted Clockwork, and then the analog clock on the time wizard's scepter started glowing, and then, it gave of a brilliantly bright flash of light. Everything suddenly went white.

* * *

**Ok, if it wern't for Shadow's clumsiness, he would've gone up to the Grandmaster Clock, and fixed what he had done. And everything would turn out fine. Read the next chapter and find out whether Shadow gets sent back a few minutes, or a few years!**


	4. Vanilla The Rabbit Kid

Shadow woke up, he was lying on the floor in the middle of the grass. Even though he didn't know where he was, he still remembered everything that has happened to him so far.

"What...where am I? Last thing I remember, I was running down the stairs to the Grandmaster Clock in order to...."

Shadow paused for a moment, then he realized that he had to do.

"I gotta get back!"

"Back to where?" said someone.

Shadow shook his head, and realized that he was staring at a young cream-colored rabbit. Shadow knew that it was Cream the Rabbit. At this, Shadow smiled and thought he was back in his own time."

"Cream!" yelled Shadow, out of happiness. Shadow quickly got up and hugged the young rabbit, showing that he really missed her.

"Cream? Who's Cream?" said the rabbit. Then Shadow's happiness faded. And he took his arms off of the rabbit.

"You are." said Shadow, trying to make it clear.

"No. I'm not. My name is Vanilla." said the rabbit.

"No it's not. It's...."

Then, Shadow took a closer look at her. She wasn't wearing an orange dress. She was wearing a purple dress. And she was wearing red shoes instead of orange shoes.

Shadow stepped back with his eyes wide with horror.

"What's going on here? Did I get sent back in time again?"

"What are you talking about?"

Vanilla, the younger rabbit that she was in the time Shadow was just sent back to, had a confused face as she asked Shadow.

"Oh my god I just of been thrown back in time again! If this keeps up, I'll be nothing!" said Shadow, worried that time would turn back far enough for him to have not been born.

But then the dark hedgehog remembered that he was created by Gerald Robotnik, Dr. Eggman's grandfather. Which made him less shocked and alarmed that he was going to disappear forever.

"I've got to get back to that Grandmaster Clock! Quickly!"

"Where are you going?" said young Vanilla.

"No time to explain! I gotta go. Bye!"

Shadow took off, and as he ran, he turned his head around and waved goodbye. The young rabbit that's destined to be Cream's mother in the future waved goodbye back to him as he ran off.

"Oh man. If Vanilla is just a kid in this time, then that means.....all my friends are gone!"

At tat moment, Shadow was alstruck by grief. But that grief suddenly wore off knowing that Shadow could fix it easily.

"I've got to get to that Grandmaster Clock! And fast!"

Shadow ran as fast as he could and before long, the forest which contained the secret passage to the underground clock room came into view. Shadow had to get to the Grandmaster Clock and fix time so that it would go forward again. And Shadow would get sent back.

He ran into the forest, and after a while, he found the place where the handle on the trapdoor is. He's found it a bunch of times already, so he knew exactly where it was. And which way he had to go.

"All right. Here goes."

Shadow grabbed the handle, opened the trapdoor, and went down the stairs. The stone that the stairs were made out of were in better condition, since Shadow was in a previous time.

"All right. I just need to go up to the clock, and fix everything before it's too late!"

After a few minutes, Shadow made it to the bottom of the stairway and found the passage that led to the Grandmaster Clock.

As soon as Shadow stepped into the room, there stood Clockwork. As he always was.

"Hello there. I'm impressed that you found this place. Who are you?"

"I'm Shadow." said Shadow, not acting like he already knew him.

"Ok. My name's Clockwork. I'm the one who runs this here Grandmaster Clock. Nice to meet you."

Clockwork stuck out his hand, and Shadow shook his hand.

"What can I do for you, Shadow?"

"I need you to take me up to the top of the Grandmaster Clock. Fast!"

Shadow looked up to the Grandmaster Clock, he saw that it was almost time for the cuckoo to come out and speak like it usually always does.

"I'm sorry. I cannot allow that. No one is allowed to touch the Grandmaster Clock. Mess with one thing in it, and it could change life as we know it." said Clockwork, his expression turning serious.

"Life is already changed as we know it." mumbled Shadow quietly.

"What?" said Clockwork, overhearing him.

"I said, I'm going to tour this place and you know it!"

"Nice save." whispered Clockwork to Shadow quietly.

"Follow me."

And so, Clockwork started showing Shadow everything he already knew about the place, and Shadow just followed him, even though he was determined to get to the top of the Grandmaster Clock and fix it so that time would stop turning back for him.

"All right. Those hourglasses...."

Clockwork points to a row of hourglasses across the hall behind a glass wall.

"....represent the moments of time for people that live in the above world right now."

Suddenly, the big hand on the grandmaster clock finally got to the 12 at the top and struck noon. The cuckoo bird started popping back and forth. Except that it wasn't facing forward. It was facing the opposite direction. Which is what Shadow had to fix.

"The cuckoo!" interrupted Shadow, running towards the clock, and climbing it.

"Hey! Don't touch the clock!" yelled Clockwork, running after him.

Shadow was halfway up, but the frustrated time wizard was determined to stop Shadow to protect his clock.

"Get down from there this instant!" said an angry Clockwork trying to keep things from going wrong, not realizing that he was really trying to stop Shadow from fixing time.

"Almost there. Come on!"

Shadow was almost at the top, but by the time he finally got to the small hole, the cuckoo finally cuckooed 12 times and stopped popping out of the clock.

"Hey! Wait!"

Shadow was at the top, but then something else unforeseen happened. One of the wooden ledges on the clock snapped apart under Shadow's weight, and Shadow fell off the clock. He came crashing down, and fell right on Clockwork. Which made him wroth.

"Ow! What happened?" moaned Shadow.

Then, a wroth Clockwork suddenly got up from the floor and knocked Shadow out of the way as fast as Sonic would.

"You hooligan! You damaged the Grandmaster Clock! My job is to protect that clock! And now, you damaged it!"

"Yes, I know but I..."

"SILENCE! Damaging the clock doesn't mess with anything, but this clock is more valuable than life itself! Now get out of here!"

Then, the angry time wizard took out his scepter, the analog clock at the tip of his sceptor started turning it's hour and minute hands. Then, it started glowing, then he pointed it at Shadow.

"Mess with the clock, go back to the rock!" chanted Clockwork, and then in the blink of an eye,

Shadow was sent back to his house.

"What? What am I doing back at my house?"

Shadow remembered the words that Clockwork chanted right before he was thrown back in time.

"Didn't he say 'go back to the rock!'?"

Shadow was surprised and confused about what Clockwork said. But it all made sense when Shadow saw the rock that was on the desk next to Shadow that he kept. Shadow knew that Clockwork was just looking for a rhyme to his spell.

"Oh. So that's what he meant."

Then, Shadow heard the door bell. He ran to the door to answer it. And to his surprise, it was someone he met earlier. It was Vanilla, the young rabbit kid that she was in the time."

"Oh. It's you. What are you doing here?"

The young rabbit that was to be Cream's future mother has a confused expression on her face.

"I came to ask you where this house came from. At first it wasn't here, and then poof. It just came out of nowhere."

"Oh, that's because...."

Shadow knew that the reason his house existed back in Vanilla's kid days is because he's being thrown back in time from tampering with the Grandmaster Clock. The hedgehog wanted to tell her that, but he knew that she wouldn't believe him. So he had to make something up.

"All right, I used to live somewhere else far away from where you live. But then I used the power of Chaos Control to bring my house here." lied Shadow.

Shadow put it to her in a way that he wasn't lying even though he really was. He reached into his pocket and took out a red Chaos Emerald to prove it.

"Wow! Is that a real Chaos Emerald? You can do that with just one Emerald?"

Young Vanilla's eyes opened in shock as she spoke.

"Uhhh...yeah. I can."

But then, Shadow just realized something that would've solved his problem earlier. At finding out that he had a red Chaos Emerald with him all along, he realized that he could've stopped time with it, and then go up to the clock and set the cuckoo straight.

The dark hedgehog did a facepalm to himself realizing that he was practically screwed.

"Uhh...are you all right?" said the young rabbit, still amazed and confused.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Good Night."

"Good Night."

Young Vanilla turned around and walked away, and Shadow closed the door.

"Maybe there's still time to fix this. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but I just know that I'm not going to see that future mother of Cream again. At least not young like right now." said Shadow, with a little confidence that he would fix all this.

Shadow went straight to bed after that. He didn't brush his teeth because the hedgehog knew that he was going to be thrown back in time the next time he woke up. He went to lie down in bed and closed his eyes immediately.

* * *

**Ok. Right now, things are even weirder than they already were in the last Chapter. But they are about to get much more abnormal. But if Shadow keeps failing to reverse the backwards ticking of the Grandmaster Clock, he will be no more. Read the next chapter and see if he can fix time, or if he disappears forever.**


	5. The End of the Beginning

**Shadow was really created on Space Colony ARK. I had to change that. Sorry.**

* * *

Without realizing it at first, Shadow woke up, and he was in some sort of realm. Around him were a bunch of analog clocks ticking and tocking.

"Huh? Wha...What's going on around here?" said Shadow, unsure of where he was.

Suddenly, his body shot forward, and he was travelling through some sort of wormhole. Ahead, there was Clockwork, staring at him.

"You've messed with the times!" yelled Clockwork. "It's time to turn back!"

Then Clockwork flew by.

"Huh? What's going on around here?"

Then, he popped back in. And Shadow was taken by surprise.

"You have tampered with the times, and now it's time for you to find me.....find me...find me....."

Those same 2 words echoed through the wormhole, and Clockwork vanished into thin air.

"Find you? Where can I find you if.."

Then, a big floating clock came into view. It turned out to be the Grandmaster Clock. It was getting closer, it was picking up speed, and Shadow's heart was pounding faster than a clock's ticking.

"What....what's going on?" said Shadow, wondering what was happening.

Then, the Grandmaster Clock moved right into Shadow, it struck him hard, as if he just hit his face against a wall.

But then, Shadow woke up.

"A dream.......it was just a dream....."

The dark hedgehog was relieved that the whole thing was a nightmare. But his relief faded when he saw where he was. It was a dark and stormy night, and it was raining hard. A huge bolt of lightning struck Shadow.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"

Then, Shadow's bed started lowering. It didn't take long for the hedgehog to find out that he was inside an evil mad scientist's lab. There were breakers and electric machines everywhere. And thunder was roaring and rain was coming down outside.

"YES! IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE!" said a mysterious voice.

Shadow listened and looked to see who and where the voice was coming from. At first, he thought it was Eggman, since the mad scientist had a big nose, a round head, goggles, and a big, furry mustache. But Shadow was staggered when he took a close look at the face. And there, clear as a bell, was Dr. Eggman's grandfather, Gerald Robotnik.

"COME ALIVE, MY CREATION!" wailed Gerald.

"Ok ok, I'm alive. You happy?" said Shadow

"IT TALKS!" wailed Gerald.

"Yes. And listen, I've gotta get to the Grandmaster Clock! It's important! And by the looks of things, if I fail to do it today, then tomorrow, I will disappear forever!" said Shadow desperately.

Gerald's evil smirk suddenly changed into a confused look.

"The Grandmaster.......what?"

"The Grandmaster Clock! It's important!"

"NO! I CREATED YOU! YOU WILL DO AS I SAY!" yelled Gerald, going from confused back to

nefarious.

"I don't care! Goodbye!"

With that, Shadow jumped off the table, and ran for the Window. The mad scientist Gerald tried to stop him, but he was too slow. And Shadow was too fast. He jumped out the window, and a few moments later, landed on his feet, surviving the long fall.

"All right. Now to get to that underground chamber."

For as much as it depended on his life, Shadow ran as fast as he could, he was running slightly faster than Sonic for this was important.

After a while, Shadow arrived at the area where the forest was. But he couldn't believe what he saw.

"No. It can't be. IT CAN'T BE!"

To his shock, the forest was gone. And so was the trapdoor that led underground.

"No. No. NOOO!"

Seeing this, Shadow crouched down, and pounded his firsts on the grass, knowing that he was screwed. But Shadow's regret and anger faded when another thought came into his mind."

"Wait. Maybe the forest isn't here because I've gone so far back in time, that the forest hasn't even grown in yet!"

Shadow was right of course. But there was one thing he was wrong about. As Shadow walked around and searched the area, he stopped when his foot caught on something.

"Huh?"

Shadow looked down, and he saw that his foot was caught on a handle sticking out of the grass. It was the same metal handle as the one on the trapdoor.

"Hey! Maybe the trapdoor is still here! Maybe if I pull on this handle!"

Shadow was wrong about the trapdoor not being there anymore, but he didn't care. He was eager to find out what was hidden underneath the grass. The dark hedgehog pulled on the handle, and to his surprise, the secret passage to the underground chamber with the Grandmaster Clock was revealed.

"It's the passage to the underground chamber! Of course! Clockwork must of hid it underneath the grass so people don't find out about it."

Shadow lifted the trapdoor even more, thus opening the passage completely. He started heading down the stairs, but he stopped when he heard a loud voice.

"THERE HE IS!"

Shadow recognized the voice instantly. It was Gerald Robotnik, the mad scientist who created him. He was surrounded by an angry mob that he hired to chase down his creation.

"GET HIM!"

Then the angry mob of people with pinchforks and torches started running after Shadow.

"Oh No!" cried Shadow, then running down the stairs. He ran as fast as he could, but then, he started running on the walls just to save time by using the speed and power that he had when Gerald created him.

"Thank You, Gerald Robotnik!" said Shadow, feeling a bit thankful. But there was no time. He ad an angry mob were chasing him down the stairs. Shadow reached the bottom and ran straight into Clockwork's Chamber.

"Yes! I made it!" cried Shadow.

But then Clockwork, taken by surprise, turned around.

"Huh? Who are you? And what are you doing here? How did you find this place?"

"No time to talk! People are chasing me! Get me to the top of...."

Then Shadow had an idea. He remembered when he fell on a cog, then it spring into the air, launching him to the Grandmaster Clock's cuckoo bird door.

"All right. It was an accident first, I hope it works purposely now."

Shadow looked to his left and found the same cog that snapped and spring him the other day, of which that day was 50 years into the future, In Sonic's time. He jumped on top of it, then the cog sprang Shadow just like the first time.

"Yes! It worked!" said Shadow with glee, flying through the air. He landed on the ledge next to the door where the cuckoo bird was supposed to pop out when the clock struck noon.

Just then, Gerald and the angry mob came into the room.

"There he is. GET HIM!" yelled Gerald. Then the angry mob ran towards the clock. They began climbing it, they were all determined to catch Shadow.

"Oh man! What now?" said Shadow, in despair.

Then a flabbergasted Clockwork yelled at the top of his lungs,

"What now? WHAT NOW? You must gave away the secret location of my clock! You should know that this clock......"

"I KNOW! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" cried Shadow, impatiently.

"You should know that messing with that giant clock could cause chaos......"

Shadow stopped paying attention to what Clockwork was saying. Because the very second he said 'chaos', The thought of using Chaos Control to freeze time popped into his mind like a balloon.

"Maybe I still have it...."

Shadow reached into his pocket, and to his luck, he took out the red Chaos Emerald he had earlier, or rather later.

"Yes! Thank You!"

Shadow's tone changed to a rather happy one instead of the serious and dark tone he usually had."

Gerald finally got to Shadow, and grabbed his arm, but at that moment, Shadow had the Chaos Emerald in the air.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" cried Shadow.

Then the red chaos emerald started glowing, and before he knew it, time was frozen.

"Yes!"

Shadow released his leg from the grasp of Gerald's hand.

"Now all I have to do is wait for the clock to strike noon."

But even though Shadow stopped time, he also stopped the Grandmaster Clock's movement.

"DO'H! I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THE GRANDMASTER CLOCK!"

Shadow pounded on the clock hard, getting his frustration out. Then, when Chaos Control finally ended, and time resumed, Gerald was shocked to see that his fist was empty. His hand was in midair, he lost his balance, slipped and fell to the bottom of the clock. His slipping and falling caused everyone else in the angry mob to fall as well. Their torches burnt out, and they all fell to the floor.

"Oooh. That's gotta hurt a lot." said Clockwork.

"Yeah yeah." said Shadow quickly and impatiently.

Then, the clock finally struck noon. And the cuckoo bird started popping in and out from the clock. It was facing the wrong way as usual.

"All right! Here goes!"

Shadow got on the cuckoo's platform, then he grabbed the huge wooden bird and lifted it up, then he put it back down facing the other way.

"Yes! I did it!"

Then something completely unexpected happened. The world started flashing before Shadow's eyes. And then, Shadow was thrown off balance. He spawned in midair in front of the clock. He fell on his bottom.

"Ow! That hurt! Wait. What happened?"

"Are you ok?" said someone.

Shadow recognized the voice instantly. He knew that it was Clockwork. He was looking down at Shadow, who was lying flat on the floor.

"You took quite a nasty fall."

"Yeah. But don't worry."

Shadow lifted himself off the ground.

"I'm alright."

"Well then! I hope you learned a super important lesson from all this."

"I did. Thank You for teaching me that lesson."

"Sure. Now please leave."

"Yes sir!"

Shadow did just what he said. He ran out of the chamber, he couldn't wait to see his friends again. He ran up the stairs quickly. The last several times that Shadow ran up or down the stairs, he felt like a loser, a pathetic being. But this time, he felt like a winner, a champion. He got to the top, lifting the trapdoor.

"Yes! Finally. It's over."

Shadow closed the trapdoor to the underground chamber. Then the trapdoor just vanished into thin air.

"Huh?"

Then, Shadow heard a voice from somewhere. It was Clockwork's voice.

"No one will ever tamper with my clock again!" said Clockwork, his voice coming from out of nowhere.

Then, Shadow heard another voice.

"There you are Shadow!"

It was Sonic's Voice.

"SONIC!"

Shadow's usual serious voice was actually 'out of character' for Shadow this time. He turned around, and tackled Sonic the same way Amy would.

"Whoa buddy. What's the matter?"

"Sonic! You don't know what I've been though! For once, I'm actually happy to see you!"

"What? Who are you and what have you done to Shadow?"

"I'll explain! I found this Grandmaster Clock right here where we are. The passage that led to it. But then I tampered with the clock and I got thrown back in time. And the only way I could fix it was............"

"Whoa slow down there buddy! Explain later! Right now I have something to say to you!"

"What?" said Shadow.

"You remind me of someone I saw like 5 years ago or something like that."

Then, Sonic's best friend Tails came from behind.

"Yeah. I saw someone like you long ago too!"

Then, from behind Tails, was Cream The Rabbit and her mother, Vanilla.

"Yeah. When I was a little girl, I saw someone like you too." said Vanilla.

"Really, mama?" said Cream.

"Yes dear." replied Vanilla.

Then, Shadow got up to say something.

"Listen you guys. I can explain everything!"

Shadow led everyone over to his house. He explained to all of Sonic's friends, what has happened to him in the past. He explained every little detail. And after several hours.....

"...and that's how it all happened." finished Shadow.

"Wow. Interesting story." said Rouge.

"I sure would hate to get involved in something like that!" said Amy.

"Me too." said Cream.

Then everyone else agreed to what Amy said.

"If that's how you feel, then I guess I won't make anymore sparkleberry pie ever again." said Vanilla.

After she said that, Shadow sighed with complete and utter relief.

"Thank You....." sighed Shadow.

Then someone knocked on the door.

"I'll get it!" said Rouge.

Rouge flew over to the door and opened it. There stood Gerald Robotnik. His mustache was gray from all those years that came to him.

"You!" yelled Shadow.

"Shadow, you've caused me soooooo much pain! I created you and then you just run off! The whole thing was a ruckus! I can't believe I even created you!"

"Oh well. Too bad, old man." replied Shadow.

Then Gerald's anger turned into even more anger.

"Old Man!?! That's it! You've caused me so much trouble 50 years ago, and now you call you creator, 'old man'!?!"

"Sorry. 'creator'." said Shadow.

"Uh huh." said Gerald sarcastically.

"Well guess what! I've spent the last 50 years building a time travel device! And I'm going to use it to go back in time so that I never even made you!"

Gerald took out a remote control with a big blue button.

"When I push this, I'll be sent back in time so that I never created you!"

Gerald presses the big blue button, but instead of being taken back in time, the remote control explodes, and Gerald's gray mustache was burnt to a crisp. Gerald moaned as he fell over and fainted on the floor. Then, Clockwork came out of nowhere.

"Clockwork?" said Shadow.

"Your Welcome." said Clockwork.

Then, the time wizard turned around and walked away, vanishing into thin air.

"Who was that guy?" said Rouge.

_**THE END**_

* * *

**Well, I hoped you liked my story! And of course I will admit that some of the stuff in this story defies Sonic X. Like Shadow was really created on Space Colony ARK.**


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